University of Oregon walk raises $15,000 for suicide prevention

More than 300 students, supporters and community members filled the University of Oregon campus for the Out of the Darkness Campus Walk, raising more than $15,000 for suicide prevention and turning a day of loss into one of visible support across Eugene.

The event, organized by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, centered on connection as much as fundraising. Vendor booths, honor beads and handwritten messages gave participants a place to remember loved ones, support friends and show up for people affected by suicide. One student participant said gatherings like this are often assumed to be only sad, but the walk created room for hope, joy and connection, and helped people see they were not alone.

That message carried extra weight on a campus where young adults are part of the population AFSP is trying to reach. The organization says suicide is the second leading cause of death among people ages 18-24, and it describes Out of the Darkness Campus Walks as its signature student fundraising series. The walks are typically 3- to 5-mile events held each spring at colleges and high schools nationwide.

The money raised in Eugene will help support AFSP’s prevention programs, public education, research and outreach to people touched by suicide loss. AFSP’s Oregon chapter says its mission is to save lives and bring hope through prevention programs, education, fundraising and support for families and friends after a suicide death, which makes the campus walk part of a larger network of local and statewide prevention work.

The University of Oregon event also fit into a familiar Lane County pattern. Eugene has hosted suicide-prevention walks before, including one at Alton Baker Park in September 2024 that drew families and friends remembering loved ones lost to suicide. AFSP also lists a separate Eugene community walk on its Oregon fall 2026 schedule, alongside events in Bend, Medford, Scappoose, Coos Bay, Newberg, Portland and Salem, showing that the effort stretches well beyond one campus and into communities across the state.